Matthew 23:21

This passage is sometimes misinterpreted as endorsing selective oath-taking where certain vows are binding and others not, contradicting Jesus' later command to avoid swearing altogether; others wrongly see it as a magical formula where human words literally sanctify God's temple, ignoring the rhetorical point against Pharisaic casuistry; or it gets applied out of context to justify modern vows or temple rituals without recognizing its critique of religious leaders' oath manipulations that profaned God's name.

Jesus rebukes the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees who deemed oaths by the temple non-binding while those by its gold were, explaining that swearing by the temple actually sanctifies it and the God dwelling within, thereby affirming the inherent holiness of the temple and the gravity of all oaths since they interconnect with divine presence and cannot be trivially distinguished or evaded.